Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb given in the bracket:
The clerk at the passport office made us ______ (wait) for nearly two hours before he checked our papers.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → wait
Complete sentence: The clerk at the passport office made us wait for nearly two hours before he checked our papers. The blank comes right after “made us”, that is, “make + person”.
| Option | Form and use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) to wait | “to” is not used after “make + person” in an active sentence. It is used only in the passive | We were made to wait for two hours. |
| (2) wait (answer) | the base form, without “to”: make + person + verb | Our teacher made us wait outside the staff room till the bell rang. |
| (3) waiting | the -ing form does not follow “make + person”. It follows verbs like “keep” | The clerk kept us waiting for two hours. |
| (4) waited | the past form. The past time is already shown by “made”, and the verb after “made us” does not change for tense | We waited at the bus stop for an hour. |